questions about air travel with LO

tomandcourt · November 2010

I know this has been asked before, sorry . . . we're thinking about flying out to the ILs for Christmas (in anticipation of a rough car trip tomorrow).

So:

Do we have to buy a ticket for J?
If not, does he get to bring a bag, or do we get any extra luggage? (We would try to carry on/gate check everything.)
If the ILs have a pack n' play, carseat, and highchair, and we bring a stroller, clothes, diapers, and some food and toys . . . is there anything I'm forgetting?
Any concerns about getting that stuff through security?
How does security work with a baby - can we bring him in a carrier? Is a stroller better? Will they make him take off his shoes?

Ugh. On the one hand this seems better than driving, but the logistics are so much more complicated. Any thoughts on a 7-ish hour car ride vs. a 1-hour flight? Even with the 1 hour travel to/from airport and 1.5 hours in security, it's still about half the travel time . . .

DCtoLowcountry · November 2010

1. Some will say yes, but we flew with DS as a lap child and he behaved better on the flight where he was in our laps vs. where we got lucky with an extra seat in our row and had him in his carseat.

2. You'll have to check with your airline, but most do not count car seats and strollers as extra baggage.

3. Can't think of anything at the moment.

4. We had to undergo additional screening for liquids when we brought formula in, but that's about it.

5. We did the stroller and liked it.

We're doing a mega road trip for Christmas to see 3 sets of grandparents. It doesn't make sense for us to fly because our destinations always require changing planes, and we'd need a car upon arrival, so we drive. I'll give you the "how nuts are we" report afterwards if you'd like to compare.

QueSrah · November 2010

1. If he's riding in your lap, he doesn't need his own ticket but when you buy your tickets you need to make sure the airline knows he is coming. I totally failed at figuring out how to do that the first time (but thankfully some very nice ticket agents helped out), but DH managed to find the right way to do it the second trip we took with DD. It's not at all clear to me when I look at the kid options.

2. If J doesn't have a ticket, he doesn't get a bag allowance. I use the diaper bag as my purse for trips like that, which helps. At least your stroller won't count against you for carry ons.

3. Sounds like your ILs have all the major stuff. Don't forget your sippies or cups if J uses something special.

4. Take your time through security. Everyone we've run into is very helpful, and there are "slow lanes" for families and people with medical issues who need more time so you don't have business travelers breathing down your neck.

5. You could always take your stroller to help carry bags (diaper bag or anything else that isn't already wheelie) if you bring your carrier. Last time we flew with DD we must have just had her in Robeez, so they didn't make us take off her shoes. I wonder whether shoes for toddlers even run the risk of having a metal shank for stability, since they're designed to be flexible.

A 7-hr. drive sounds miserable to me. DD is pretty good in the car, but got cranky on our 2 hr. drive from the airport to MIL's house. Plus 7 hours is longer if you haven't already factored in extra time for diaper changes and things just being slower with a kid. But I am still looking forward to our first flight with a kid who can walk - I don't know if that will make a plane all that much worse since we won't have a seat to strap her into!

emack · November 2010

tomandcourt:
Do we have to buy a ticket for J? Depends on how long the trip is. For less than 2 hours, I wouldn't get him a ticket. For a lot longer, think about cost versus the joy of having a row of three seats.
If not, does he get to bring a bag, or do we get any extra luggage? (We would try to carry on/gate check everything.) Same luggage rules apply. We checked because lugging all that stuff through the airport and security was a huge pain and we wanted to focus on the three of us.
If the ILs have a pack n' play, carseat, and highchair, and we bring a stroller, clothes, diapers, and some food and toys . . . is there anything I'm forgetting? That's awesome that they have all of that! Bring more diapers than you need for just the airplane trip, but you could always buy some there. Same with food. Snacks for the trip, cups for milk (2 at least - she didn't want all of her milk but we couldn't refrigerate and then the cup was useless...), toys, and clothes should be all you need. We also needed things like her white noise, spoons, cups, bowls, etc that ILs didn't have.
Any concerns about getting that stuff through security? Security was easy - they tend to be nice to those with babies.
How does security work with a baby - can we bring him in a carrier? Is a stroller better? Will they make him take off his shoes? I MUCH preferred no stroller and used the Ergo. I didn't have to take her out of it, but I did have to take her shoes off. It was complicated, but I did it by myself once and it was manageable.
You can do this - people are nice, DD loved the airplanes and airport so was really entertained. When we went on our big trip, she was just about J's age, so it was a good time to go. Have fun!

doggylovr · November 2010

We flew with DS back in october to avoid a 14 hour car trip, it was actually quite easy for hte most part!!

1. We did not buy a ticket for DS, we figured he would want to be held anyways, you don't have to buy a ticket for any child under 2 but you must bring hteir birth certificate and get a free lap ticket for him at the ticket counter where you check in.

2. Because he is not a paying customer, we did not get any extra luggage allowance for him except for the stroller and car seat which we gate checked

3. Sounds good to me:-)

4./5. Security was kind of a pain, we had to take his shoes off and while I was standing there also half naked i had to walk through carrying him. we had to collapse the stroller and send it through the x-ray machine, there is a family line at dulles so you didn;t feel as rushed bc everyone in the line was also dealing with kids/strollers/car seats etc

that being said, if it were me with my ds who is a good road tripper, i would drive 7 hours but that it the MAX we would go with him before flying. He slept the whole plane ride too fwiw and it was 1hr 45 min

emack · November 2010

OH, don't forget that you need his birth certificate with you. They need it for his ID and proof that he is younger than 2.

tomandcourt · November 2010

emack:
OH, don't forget that you need his birth certificate with you. They need it for his ID and proof that he is younger than 2.

Yikes! I would have forgotten this one. Thanks, ladies! These tips are really helpful. Definitely leaning toward flying now.

umdbride · November 2010

I haven't done this yet obviously, but thought I'd share what's on TSA about the screening process for kids:

https://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/index.shtm

https://blog.tsa.gov/2010/11/tsa-myth-or-fact-leaked-images.html

vtkgirl77 · November 2010

For question #2, I remember flying on an airline and I found info on their website that said strollers and carseats did not count as carry-on luggage or towards your baggage count or something to that effect. I think it also said that the diaper bag can be an extra carry-on. When you book the flight, I would look at the airline's policies. I actually printed out the policy from the website in case anyone hasseled me about it.

I didn't think flying with DD was too bad. As long as the flight doesn't get delayed it's sort of nice for them because there's so much to look at and there's some variety in scenery.

tomandcourt · November 2010

emack:
tomandcourt:
If the ILs have a pack n' play, carseat, and highchair, and we bring a stroller, clothes, diapers, and some food and toys . . . is there anything I'm forgetting? That's awesome that they have all of that!

Actually, they don't - they (or we) would have to buy it. But they've offered, and now it seems like it might be worth doing.

Artslvr · November 2010

We've flown with two kids and I've flown by myself with one kid and pp is right, when it came to the line at security people were actually pretty patient. I figure for the curmudgeons who roll their eyes at the sight of little kids at the airport, they can choose a different security line. The security line can be tough because it takes a while to put your stroller, car seat, carry on, diaper bag, laptop, etc. up on the belt, get your shoes off, get LO's shoes off, etc.

I don't know, I think it's all a state of mind. If you're like my DH, you'll feel really rushed and get flustered - especially after all that crap goes through the machine and spits out the other end, then you have to struggle to gather all of it back up and put your shoes back on, etc. He gets really anxious. Me - I remind myself that there is no rush. If people behind me are in a hurry and get aggravated, that's their problem, not mine. If security guards look impatient, that's their problem. Take your time, don't get anxious.

I prefer to save the $ and not buy a seat for the babe. I think mine like the security of sitting on our laps. As for stroller vs. just a carrier, I think it just depends on how much your LO likes the carrier. My two girls didn't like the carrier for more than a short while, so for us the stroller is a necessity. Plus, you can strap a bunch of crap to the stroller and not have to hand carry everything.

ak1234 · December 2010

Do we have to buy a ticket for J? No. You have to go to the ticket agent (before security!) to add your lap infant to your boarding pass. At his age, take his birth certificate. When LO was teeny, no one asked. The last time I flew with him, the ticket agent suggested that I bring it next time.
If not, does he get to bring a bag, or do we get any extra luggage? (We would try to carry on/gate check everything.) No extra bag, but your carseat and stroller don't count toward your allowance. A diaper bag may not either, but no, you can't bring an extra piece of luggage for him.
If the ILs have a pack n' play, carseat, and highchair, and we bring a stroller, clothes, diapers, and some food and toys . . . is there anything I'm forgetting? My mom has all of the stuff you mentioned, and the last time we went, we just bought dipes, wipes and formula when we got there. It worked out great!
Any concerns about getting that stuff through security? It is a pain in the ass, but people are usually really helpful, and they never rush you.
How does security work with a baby - can we bring him in a carrier? Is a stroller better? Will they make him take off his shoes? You will have to take him out of the stroller/carrier. This will depend on the airport, but the last time we flew, we had to take off his coat, hat and shoes (Robeez) to send him through security. On the way there, I didn't have to do any of that.

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